Crypto

20 Best Cryptocurrency Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

Published

4 months ago

September 7, 2024

20 Best Cryptocurrency Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

In this article, we will take a look at the recent news from the crypto industry while discussing the 20 cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds.

A Review of the Crypto World: Latest Updates

Crypto has emerged as a major political issue in the US with the campaigns for election going on. Head of Firmwide research Galaxy Digital Alex Thorn called August a rough and seasonally bad week for Bitcoin. He mentioned how eight out of the eleven prior Augusts witnessed the major coin trading down. However, political events have also played a role in the crypto landscape.

In Thorn’s opinion, most people view Trump’s victory as bullish for the crypto market. Trump who is now running for President brought the hopes of the crypto world higher by promising to deliver a plan to make the United States the ‘crypto capital of the planet’. Crypto became an even hotter topic as Kamala Haris simultaneously supported policies for the expansion of the industry. In the opinion of Thorn, most people view Trump’s victory as bullish for the crypto market. He predicts crypto will run quite higher if Trump ends up winning the election based on an anticipated easing of the regulations. On the other hand, he expects the victory of Harris to be more neutral even for the industry since those advising her belong to the Biden administration on crypto policy.

Looking forward to September which is a seasonally weak month for crypto too, the next months including October, November, and December are crypto’s most bullish months based on the seasonality factor. Regardless of the highly awaited Fed interest rate cuts just ahead of us, the crypto market investors still remain concerned as JPMorgan’s Head of Global and European Equity Strategy dismissed the potential of a crypto bull market. While September has been a historically worst month for US stocks, the upcoming rate cut might be an outlier in history.

In an interview with CNBC, Anthony Pompliano, Professional Capital Management CEO, talked about the recent price moves in Bitcoin. The German government offloading Bitcoin through as many exchanges and the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox unloading coins onto the market are two important events defining this supply. Pompliano refers to Bitcoin as really illiquid with many Bitcoin holders having a long-term view of it. At the start of 2024, the Bitcoin amount that had not moved in more than a year was over 70%. Some of it started to get distributed as prices rose, as expected in a bull market. Although Pompliano expects this percentage to drop to 50% to 55% but still at least half of the Bitcoin would still be in the hands of people who have an over 10-year time horizon. Thus, the question revolves around whether these hands are strong enough to outlast the aforementioned two events. Pompliano finally states time as the only catalyst for Bitcoin rather than a pro-crypto candidate in the upcoming US elections. While the summer season is a bit slow, prices typically go back up in September and beyond.

With that, let’s look at the 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy now.

Our Methodology:

In order to compile a list of the 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds, we sifted through ETFs and online rankings to compile a preliminary list of 40 companies involved in the crypto space. Moving on, we shortlisted the top 20 stocks from our list which had the highest number of hedge fund holders. The 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds have been arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders they have, as of Q2 2024.

At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

20 Best Cryptocurrency Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds

20. Hut 8 Mining Corp (NASDAQ:HUT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 13

Hut 8 Mining Corp (NASDAQ:HUT) is a Bitcoin mining company headquartered in Miami, Florida. The company has self-mining, hosting, managed services, and traditional data center operations across North America. It has a portfolio comprising 20 sites including 10 Bitcoin mining, hosting, and managed services sites in Alberta, New York, and Texas, 4 power generation assets in Ontario, 5 high-performance computing data centers in British Columbia and Ontario, and one newly announced site in the Texas Panhandle.

Hut 8 Mining Corp (NASDAQ:HUT) serves as one of North America’s largest Bitcoin miners and a leading vertically integrated operator of large-scale energy infrastructure. Its unique business model revolves around profitable digital asset mining, high-performance computing, and yield programs that complement its self-mined Bitcoin reserves’ value. The firm has years of experience mining digital assets with the most efficient mining servers which makes its operations one of the strongest in the mining industry. It has a proven track record of successfully navigating bull and bear Bitcoin market cycles. Despite the network halving during the second quarter, the firm’s gross margins in the Digital Assets Mining segment increased to 46% year-over-year.

An expanding footprint is core to the firm’s differentiated energy strategy. While the firm announced a new site in the Texas Panhandle, it is discussing a large-scale commercial partnership for the site which can power up to 205 megawatts of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs. Emphasizing this business strategy, here is what the CEO Asher Genoot said during the Q1 2024 results conference call:

“We believe our strategy will position us for market leadership—first in Bitcoin mining then in the broader energy infrastructure sector. And with our commitment to disciplined capital allocation, focus on non-dilutive sources of funding, and exceptional team and board, we are more confident than ever that we are building a business that endures for generations and delivers lasting shareholder value.”

The firm’s strategy of building a portfolio that drives long-term market leadership, diversified business lines, and a strong and liquid balance sheet makes it attractive. As of Q2 2024, Hut 8 Mining Corp (NASDAQ:HUT) was held by 13 hedge funds thereby ranking among the 20 best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds.

19. Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 15

Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) is an industrial-scale Bitcoin mining company that dedicates itself to expanding and strengthening the Bitcoin network’s critical infrastructure in the United States. Cipher focuses on the development and operation of bitcoin mining data centers in the country. The US-based Bitcoin mining company was incorporated in 2020 and aims to be the market leader in Bitcoin mining growth and innovation.

Cipher is in an attractive industry position to maximize opportunities in both Bitcoin mining and HPC infrastructure. It is currently developing HPC infrastructure to be complementary to its Bitcoin mining business. The firm strategically expanded into the High-Performance Computing (HPC) business and has the potential to become a market-leading HPC infrastructure provider by securing 4 new North American sites with up to 1.7 GW of capacity while all sites have adequate access to consistent power, land, and fiber necessary to accommodate HPC. With experienced industry experts from Google, Vantage, and Meta on the team and significant early interest from a broad set of potential investors and financiers, Cipher is poised to grow.

As indicated by the CEO of Cipher, the firm currently operates at 8.7 exahashes per second of self-mining hashrate and is on target to achieve 13.5 exahashes per second by the year’s end and 35.0 exahashes per second by 2025’s end, almost 4 times than the current. Amidst ambitious plans for expansion and consistent growth in Bitcoin mining capacity and efficiency, Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) is aiming for the right balance between the two business lines. The stock was held by 15 hedge funds at the close of Q2 2024 and is one of the best cryptocurrency stocks to buy according to hedge funds.

18. Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) operates as a global leader in digital asset compute. The company mines digital assets with a focus on the Bitcoin ecosystem in the United States. Marathon leverages digital asset compute to support the energy transformation by the conversion of clean, stranded, or underutilized energy into economic value.

Marathon is one of the largest and most liquid miners which continues to efficiently scale and expand its operations thereby setting the pace for the Bitcoin mining industry. The firm has a diversified portfolio of Bitcoin mining operations. All of this has translated into strong financial results. From Q4 2022 to Q4 2023, the company witnessed its hashrate, BTC production, efficiency, and market share rise. For the second quarter of 2024, the BTC production fell as a result of the increased global hash rate, the April halving event, and unexpected third-party equipment failures and transmission line maintenance. However, the company recorded its energized hash rate increasing 78% to 31.5 exahashes per second, up from 17.7 exahashes per second in Q2 2023. Revenue increased by 78% year-over-year.

To better align its internal structure with the pursuit of growth opportunities, the company was organized into three strategic business teams including Utility Scale Mining, Energy Harvesting, and Technology. It also diversified its portfolio of digital asset compute with the launch of Kaspa mining operations.

With an all-time high installed current hash rate of 31.5 exahashes per second, the strategic move towards a streamlined organization with three specialized business teams, Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) qualifies as one of the best cryptocurrency stocks to buy which was held by 16 hedge funds and Citadel Investment Group was the top shareholder, as of Q2 2024.

17. Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16

Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) is a global Bitcoin self-mining company which was founded in 2017. The company runs vertically integrated mining operations with onsite technical repair, proprietary data analytics, and company-owned electrical engineering and installation services. The Bitcoin miner has a diversified production platform comprising 8 industrial-scale facilities in Canada, 2 in the United States, 1 in Argentina, and 3 in Paraguay. The firm’s data centers are powered by more than 75% renewable power.

Currently, Bitfarms serves as the only publicly traded crypto mining company audited by a Big Four accounting firm. The firm manages one of the largest internationally diversified portfolios of energy contracts in the Bitcoin data center business. It recently added 220 MW of capacity in Paraguay and Pennsylvania while it energized its 70 MW site in Paso Pe, the company’s largest site to date. Simultaneously, it stepped into the most attractive energy market in the US through its new site in Sharon while unlocking new opportunities beyond Bitcoin mining, such as HPC/AI. For the second quarter, Bitfarms had a hashrate of 11.1 exahashes per second, up from 6.5 exahashes per second in the first quarter. This implies that Bitfarms is implementing a robust growth strategy with a focus on US expansion and diversification from Bitcoin mining.

At the end of August, Bitfarms Ltd. (NASDAQ:BITF) revealed its plans to acquire Stronghold Digital Mining, Inc., a vertically integrated crypto asset mining company. This transformative acquisition is anticipated to potentially raise Bitfarm’s energy portfolio to over 950 MW by the end of 2025. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025.

Based on the aforementioned plans, the firm is well set to reach over 35 exahashes per second in 2025 which will be a 67% growth from 21 exahashes per second, the year-end target for 2024. With the appointment of Ben Gagnon as the Chief Executive Officer who has a prior 9-year full-time experience in the mining industry, Bitframs is positioned for accelerated growth through 2024. The firm’s impressive energy portfolio and strategic approach to growth rank it among some of the best crypto stocks to buy. As of Q2 2024, the stock was held by 16 hedge funds while Millennium Management was the most dominant shareholder.

Crypto

Sen. Bernie Moreno supports loosening regulations on some cryptocurrency assets

Published

3 hours ago

January 8, 2025

Press Room

Sen. Bernie Moreno supports loosening regulations on some cryptocurrency assets

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bernie Moreno’s victory in the Ohio Senate race was a big win for the cryptocurrency industry, which spent more than $40 million supporting his candidacy. Now in office, Moreno said he would support legislation the industry is seeking that would govern how it is regulated.

What You Need To Know

Sen. Bernie Moreno said he would support new legislation to govern how the cryptocurrency industry is regulated

The crypto industry spent tens of millions of dollars to support Moreno in the Ohio Senate race

Moreno’s support of laws sought by crypto interests is a stark contrast from his Democrat predecessor, former Sen. Sherrod Brown

Moreno has long been involved with the crypto industry. He has a background in blockchain, the same technology used to for cryptocurrency. He previously founded Champ Titles, a digital car titling company that was among the first to use blockchain for digital titles.

The cryptocurrency industry also helped fuel his Senate win. Super PAC Defend American Jobs spent $40.1 million on the race, more than any other outside group. The super PAC is affiliated with Fairshake, another super PAC that is funded by Coinbase, Ripple and other crypto companies.

Moreno’s support of laws sought by crypto interests is a stark contrast from his Democrat predecessor, former Sen. Sherrod Brown.

As Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Brown blocked advancing a bill to loosen the regulation of some crypto assets, known as the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21^st Century Act, or FIT 21. The bill would reclassify many kinds of crypto as commodities rather than securities. Rules for commodities, examples of which include oil, wheat or electricity, are generally looser than those for financial securities like stocks or bonds. The bill passed the House last Congress, but remained stalled in the Senate Banking Committee.

Moreno now sits on the Banking Committee, as well as the Senate Committees for Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Budget; and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

“I got the committee assignments I wanted,” Moreno said. “Senator Thune was kind enough to get me on Banking.”

Moreno disagreed with the stance Brown had taken against legislation like FIT 21, countering that the rapidly growing cryptocurrency industry needs better clarification on regulations.

“Crypto is not looking to be deregulated. Crypto is looking to be treated fairly, to have transparent, consistent regulations that treat everybody equally and fairly. That’s what we want,” he said. “Look, at the end of they day, I understand how the technology works and I understand the industry. My opponent had no idea.”

With a new Congress, the House would have to re-introduce and pass another cryptocurrency regulation bill. FIT 21 previously received bipartisan support, with nearly all Republicans and about a third of Democrats voting for it.

Similar legislation would likely move more quickly this Congress, in which Republicans control the House, Senate and White House.

Crypto

Cryptocurrency options in 401(k) plans: Here's what to know to make the most of your workplace retirement plan

Published

11 hours ago

January 8, 2025

Press Room

Cryptocurrency options in 401(k) plans: Here's what to know to make the most of your workplace retirement plan

The rally in bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices has generated excitement among some investors, but investment advisors are largely still skeptical that those volatile assets belong in a 401(k) plan or other qualified retirement savings plans.

Crypto was one of the fastest-growing categories of exchange-traded funds in 2024. The most popular of these funds, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), has ballooned to over $50 billion in total assets.

Although crypto is a small part of the 401(k) plan market, it could grow substantially in 2025.

President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he will create a strategic reserve of bitcoin for the U.S. and has nominated Paul Atkins, a cryptocurrency advocate, to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC’s approval of spot bitcoin and ethereum exchange-traded funds in 2024 was a key change for the industry.

More from Your Money:

Here’s a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money for the years ahead.

The law covering 401(k) plans requires plan sponsors to act as fiduciaries, or in investors’ best interest, by considering the risk of loss and potential gains of investments. The Labor Department has cautioned fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” before adding crypto options to a 401(k) plan’s core investments.

Labor Department officials, however, haven’t required fiduciaries to select and monitor all investment options, like those offered through self-directed brokerage windows, according to the Government Accountability Office. Nearly 40% of plans now offer brokerage windows in their 401(k) accounts, according to a 2023 survey by the Plan Sponsor Council of America.

Pros and cons of crypto in a 401(k) plan

Fernando Gutierrez-Juarez | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Views are mixed about how much crypto to add to retirement savings or if it’s wise to allocate any at all.

Some financial advisors say crypto can work for a 401(k) plan because its movements are unconnected to the stock market and it functions even if a fiat currency is devalued.

“Crypto should be a part of a 401(k) plan because it’s a non-correlated alternative asset class,” said Ivory Johnson, a certified financial planner and founder of Delancey Wealth Management in Washington, D.C.

“With that said, investors need to ensure that they take their risk tolerance and time horizon into account which will define the target allocation,” said Johnson, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. “The more volatile an asset class is, the less you need of it in the portfolio because you presumably get more bang for your buck.”

Johnson recommends cryptocurrencies range from 2% to 8% of an investor’s portfolio.

Other experts point to volatility and risk as reasons to be conservative.

“People saving for retirement should probably be even more conservative, because adding crypto to a 401(k) plan would significantly increase the risk that your retirement nest egg could suffer a large loss at the wrong time,” said Amy Arnott, a chartered financial analyst and portfolio strategist with Morningstar Research Services.

Morningstar found that since September 2015, bitcoin has been nearly five times as volatile as U.S. stocks, and ether nearly 10 times as volatile. That type of volatility adds a large risk to a portfolio even with a small amount invested.

401(k) contribution limits for 2025

Regardless of what assets are in a 401(k) plan, there are limits to how much you can contribute. For 2025, an employee can contribute up to $23,500 in a 401(k) and other employer-sponsored plans — that’s $500 more than in 2024.

People age 50 or older can make a “catch-up contribution” of up to $7,500. And those age 60 to 63 years old can supersize that, with a catch-up contribution of up to $11,250 for 2025.

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Crypto

Prospects for Improved Relations Between the Cryptocurrency Industry and Banks Under the Trump Administration

Published

19 hours ago

January 8, 2025

Press Room

Prospects for Improved Relations Between the Cryptocurrency Industry and Banks Under the Trump Administration

With just over two weeks left until Donald Trump takes office, there are prospects that the relationship between the cryptocurrency industry and the banking sector, which has been at odds, could change positively.

According to The Block, a cryptocurrency-focused media outlet, TD Cowen predicts that under the Trump administration, banks may see an improvement in their relationship with the cryptocurrency industry.

Jaret Seiberg and the Washington Research Group stated in a report, “Banks have the responsibility to comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations and manage risks such as liquidity and concentration,” adding, “If the Trump administration takes power, it is inevitable that the relationship between traditional finance and the cryptocurrency industry will change positively.”

However, they also mentioned that some banks may still take a cautious stance. They said, “Some banks may still see risks in increasing relationships with cryptocurrencies,” and “this could be targeted by new banks.” Additionally, stablecoins (assets linked to the value of fiat currency) were highlighted as the cryptocurrency sector that banks would be most interested in, as banks hold cash, making them advantageous for issuing stablecoins.

In the U.S., there has been ongoing conflict between the cryptocurrency industry and the traditional financial sector, particularly banks. There have been conspiracy theories suggesting that banks have implicitly enforced cryptocurrency-related sanctions, known as Operation Chokepoint 2.0. Some cryptocurrency figures have claimed that banks have tried to restrict access to traditional financial services for the cryptocurrency industry.

Brian Armstrong, the founder of Coinbase, commented on Operation Chokepoint 2.0, saying, “It actually happened. Unethical and un-American actions occurred under the Biden administration,” and “We are currently gathering evidence from victims through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).”